September’s still hot at the movies

September movies like George Clooney’s The American officially begin the push for Oscar gold! Hollywood traditionally leaves its most Oscar-worthy contenders (ie the really good movies) until September or after in order to stay fresh on Academy Award voters’ minds.

September 22

What it's about: Woody Allen again paints a picture of modern romance with a cast of actors and actresses that are relatively or completely new to the world of Woody. That is a rarity in that Woody Allen tends to stick with actors he knows, for example Scarlett Johansson, who is conspicuously absent from You Will Meet a Tall, Dark Stranger.

September 24

What it's about: Successful PR pro Marni (Kristen Bell) heads home for her older brother's (James Wolk) wedding and discovers that he's marrying her high school arch nemesis (Odette Yustman), who's conveniently forgotten their problematic past. Then the bride's jet-setting aunt (Sigourney Weaver) bursts in and Marni's not-so-jet-setting mom (Jamie Lee Curtis) comes face to face with her own high school rival. The claws come out and old wounds are opened in this crazy comedy that proves that not all rivalries are forever.

The film follows Soren, a young owl enthralled by his father's epic stories of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, a mythic band of winged warriors who fought a great battle to save all of owlkind from the evil Pure Ones. While Soren dreams of someday joining his heroes, his older brother, Kludd, scoffs at the notion, and yearns to hunt, fly and steal his father's favor from his younger sibling. But Kludd's jealousy has terrible consequences -- causing both owlets to fall from their treetop home and right into the talons of the Pure Ones. Now it is up to Soren to make a daring escape with the help of other brave young owls. Together they soar across the sea and through the mist to find the Great Tree, home of the legendary Guardians of Ga'Hoole -- Soren's only hope of defeating the Pure Ones and saving the owl kingdom.

What it's about: Oliver Stone revisits greed and realizes through his protagonist, Michael Douglas' Gordon Gekko, that perhaps it is not so good. Given the recent economic meltdown across the world, credit Stone for realizing the potential for a sequel to his 1980s Oscar-nominated smash.

BuriedStarring:Ryan ReynoldsWhat it's about: We are intrigued in the premise of Buried, especially given the lead actor. Ryan Reynolds stars as Paul Conroy who awakes one day 6-feet underground buried in a coffin. With no idea how he got there and only armed with a cell phone and a lighter, Paul must figure out where he is, who put him there and somehow alert someone who can help him before his phone's battery dies or he runs out of oxygen.

Waiting for SupermanStarring: Documentary, real people!What it's about: From the director of An Inconvenient Truth comes the documentary of stories that cross the nation, yet share the same thread -- lacking educational prospects. Public education goes under the documentary microscope to discover why the former educational leader of the world is now ranked lower than most of our allies and enemies.